Less Than Human
by WATERMELON-S33DS
Summary: more human!burpy stuff! it's probably a good idea to check out my other fic, Pit, before reading this! eli ends up finding out the hard way that human slugs can still be ghouled. rated T for violence and a bit of colourful language.
1. Chapter 1

If there was one thing Eli could of happily lived his life without knowing, it would be that slugs could still be ghouled even when human... actually, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that was kind of important, he just wished he hadn't been learning it this way!

He was currently ripping through thick vegetation on the back of his mecha-beast, droplets of sweat covered his brow and his breath was rather heavy. It wasn't too difficult to track his slug, he just had to follow the large burn marks on all the trees, signs as to which way the kidnapped Infurnus was being taken.

On the other end of the chase Burpy was trying his best to break free from ropes that kept his arms tied down to the sides of his body, everytime they passed a tree he'd puff up his cheeks and send a blast of fire at the wood to mark it for his slinger. The goons who had captured him payed little attention, they simply continued riding on thinking it was just the guys way of protesting his kidnapping. It wasn't long before the citadel could be seen, thick clouds or dark-red smoke could be seen gathering above it. Panic filled Burpy's now human heart and he did the one thing he could think of, something he had seen and heard many slingers do when they're scared, angry, or stressed, Eli had done it plenty of times. He closed his eyes tight and took a deep breath before shouting as loud as he could.

"FUCK!" Burpy could hear that word echo slightly after he finished, the guards all looked at him slightly confused and kept going. Welp, that hadn't worked, but it was worth a shot, right?


	2. Chapter 2

His struggling and thrashing didn't do much, as his hands were bound tightly behind his back, a metal bar between his arms and back kept him sitting in one place on the floor. Whenever somebody stepped close to him Burpy would respond by yelling at them and spitting fire in their direction, many had just barely gotten out of the way, but not after suffering burns from the flames.

As two men occupied the slug-man a guard snuck up behind him with a leather strip in his hands. With a swift motion that took less than a second he swung the strip around Burpy's head and the pole so it covered his mouth, then tied it tightly to keep him from blowing anymore flames or from thrashing around too much. Even with the gag Burpy continued trying to shout, feeling more and more helpless with every passing second, up to the point where tears had formed in his eyes.

It wasn't long before he was sobbing slightly, not noticing the machine that had been rolled into the room. It looked like a large ray gun, but the end of it was a little weird looking. It kind of looked like a large, flat showerhead with tons of tiny holes in it. When it got close enough it had caught Burpy's attention, he locked his red eyes onto it and refused to looked away.

"None of you understand how satisfying this will be for me~" At the sound of Dr. Blakk's voice Burpy felt rage begin bubbling up within him. He resumed with his struggling and wiggling and seemed to be growling at the pale man that stood behind the gun.

There was a large tank connected to the machine, inside of it was a red liquid that bubbled as the machine came to life. Burpy didn't have enough time to take note of it before a horrible dampness hit his face and stench filled his nostrils. He tried his best to hold his breath but a gloved hand grabbed ahold of his hair and yanked it forcefully, causing Burpy to take a sharp intake of breath through his nose at the sudden pain. His throat began burning immediately and his nose stung. He couldn't do anything to stop the tears that began flowing down his cheeks as his entire body ached and his heart began pounding faster than what most would consider healthy. Everything he saw took on a red tint a few seconds before he completely blacked out, the pain had become unbearable for his conscious mind.


	3. Chapter 3

Eli ran into the citadel, paying no attention to anybody who tried to stop him; he simply shot them down with little effort and kept going. He had no idea where he was headed, but something seemed right as his feet tapped against the ground, the sound echoing through the halls.

He dove for cover when he heard somebody coming. Their footsteps were quick and as they walked down the hall, Eli could've sworn he heard silent growling, whoever it was must of had ghouls. Eli leaned out around the corner just in time to see somebody step into Dr. Blakk's office. With the second he had seen of that person he got a glimpse of a pair of baggy pants and the back of a black vest with green detailing... he knew he had seen that something similar to that somewhere but he couldn't place it. He quickly, and silently, made his way over and leaned on the door, it shifted slightly under his weight. With a deep breath he listened to the sound of his blaster as it charged to shoot a slug.

"Hold up!" Eli yelled as he spun through the door and took aim. Dr. Blakk looked up from his desk and at the boy with extreme distaste. The figure who had walked in earlier turn around, reavealing an all too familiar face. Eli froze and felt his heart stop when he saw Burpy, his skin looked to be dark grey and where his clothing and hair were supposed to be orange was now black. Everything else on the slug-mam was different shades of green. Eli felt his hand start to shake when Burpy snarled at him.

"Go ahead." Dr. Blakk waved his hand at Eli, after the signal was given Burpy lunged forward and screeched, causing the Shane to panic and run out the door. Dammit! Burpy was fast, the only way Eli was able to avoid grabs and slashes from the larger male was by slipping and rolling on the smooth floors. There was even one corner that he had slipped across the floor and made a quick turn, while Burpy wasn't so lucky, the ghoul-man kept sliding, going right into a pile of boxes. The victory was short winded as he was up in no time and angrier than before. As they continued running through the halls two men stepped out from a room, Eli pushed them out of the way and dove through the closing door. It led to a factory like room with large containers and tanks of dark water everywhere. The door had led up onto a platform that had suspended over the room like a bridge. Eli continued running but tripped. He hadn't noticed it but his breathing had picked up drastically from the chase and his throat burned when the air went down into his lungs. His thoughts were interupted when the entrance to the room opened up, the form of ghouled-Burpy stood there, tall and menacing. Eli tried his best to scramble away as the Darkfurnus strode forward, he reached out and took hold of a metal pipe that was on the wall.

"I'm just following orders..." His voice sounded strange, like a dangerous hiss. With those words he ripped the pipe off the wall with ease. Eli began scrambling backwards, trying to keep as much distance between him and the man as possible. Red irises within black eyes stared down at him, filled with hate and bloodlust.


	4. Chapter 4

The next few moments were the most terrifying thing Eli had ever experienced. Burpy's hands lit up a bright green with a powerful flame that he used to heat the weapon that he held. The metal slowly turned red, but kept it's shape. Heat quickly spread up the entire shaft, making it untouchable to anybody besides it's wielder.

"Burpy! Please listen to me! Don't do this!" Eli quickly stood up and put his hands up in defense. Burpy simply growled and stepped forward, bringing his hand, and the pipe, back before swinging both forward quickly. Eli only had a second to dive and roll between the man's legs in order to avoid the attack. With a loud growl Burpy turned around to face the panicking teenager. He jabbed at where Eli's feet were, the boy had to jump in order to keep his ankles from being singed, big mistake. As Burpy's next move was to grab the boy by the neck and pin him to the wall.

This was it, Eli couldn't get out of the ghoul-man's grip. As the pipe was brought down to his face for a final blow Eli did something incredibly painful and stupid.

He grabbed the metal pipe with his bare hands and instantly felt pain shoot up through his palms and up his arms. Not being able to hold it back he screamed in pain as he felt his gloves burn away, exposing the tender flesh underneath that seemed to be melting under the extreme heat. Burpy began pushing down on the rod to try and injure the boy more, a wicked grin that exposed sharp fangs sat upon his lips. Eli sobbed in agony as he was forced to tighten his grip on the pipe.

"P-please! Burpy! Stop!" Eli screamed, his voice cracking from fear and pain. He looked up with wide eyes, almost unable to see anything through his tears. All he got in response was more pressure, which led to greater pain. Once again, the feeling overwhelmed him and caused him to screech again, this one sounded more like a choked sob than a shout. "Help!" Was all Eli could think to yell now, he kept his gaze locked on Burpy, who froze up for a second at the sound of his slinger calling for help. With this second Eli managed to push the rod away and roll to safety. His hands stung and shook, they were red and covered in disgusting, burnt flesh. He really didn't want to do what came next since he had to use his injured mits, but he knew it was necessary. Doc squeaked in determination as he was loaded and shot at the Darkfurnus, who yelled when he was knocked to the ground by the green slug.

Eli hadn't looked up to see if his shot hit the target, he was too busy occupying himself with putting pressure onto his hands to try and ease the pain. He sat, hunched over with his hands tucked under his arms and tears falling to the ground. Chiller chirped loudly and hopped out, chirring as if begging to see the slingers hands. Eli reluctantly exposed his hands to the biting air and winced as cold air was blown onto them, a thick layer of frost soon formed and soothed his wounds.

"Th-tha-thanks... lit-little buddy..." Eli tried to say through his sobs. Doc hopped over to where Will's son sat and repeated Chiller's actions, asking to see the burnt flesh. Eli lowered his hands once more and sighed deeply as Doc began working on healing the mutilated flesh. A few feet ahead of where the three of them sat a sad trilling sound could be heard. Burpy sat and looked on sadly, tears filled his red eyes when he saw what he had done to his slinger. He pulled his knees in close to his body and sniffled, feeling horrible for his actions.

"I... I-I-I... I'm sorry!" He choked and let his tears flow. His lip quivered violently as he sobbed.

"Ah... come over here..." Eli motioned weakly with his hand, which was now only covered in scarred and tender tissue thanks to Doc's healing. Burpy didn't hesitate and immediately dove towards his slinger, wrapping his large arms around the boys smaller frame.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered again, nuzzling his face into Eli's neck.

"Hey... you can make it up to me by carrying me outisde." Eli chuckled, yelping slightly when he was suddenly lifted up into the air and held bridal style by the slug-man. Burpy waited a few seconds for Doc and Chiller to climb up his body and into Eli's lap before he made his way out, making sure to avoid any guards. Luckily all they came across were the unconscious ones that Eli had taken care of.


End file.
